Casting apparatus



Oct. 22, 1929. F. s. KocHENDQRl-'ER 1,732,236

CASTING APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1925 10 Sheets-Sheet 1 wma-AW Oct.y 22, 1929. F. s. KocHENDoRr-'ER CASTING APPARATUS Filed May 13,

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Od; 22, 1929. als. KocHENDoRr-ER 1,732,236

CASTING AIPARATUS y Filed May 13, 1926 10 Sheets-Sheet 3 @AMW-y Get. 22, 1.929. F. s. KocHENDoRFER 1,732,236

CASTING APPARATUS Filed May 13, 1926 10 Sheets-Sheet 4 F. S. KOCHENDORFER Oef 22, 19251 CASTING APPARATUS Filed May 13, 1926 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 22, i929. F. s. KocHENDoRr-'ER 1,732,236'

CASTING APPARATUS Filed May 13. 1926 10 Sheets-Shelet 6 Oct. 22, 1929. F. s. KocHENDoRFER CASTING` APPARATUS Filed May 15, 1926 10 Sheets-Sheet '7 F. s. KocHENboRFl-:R

CASTING APPARATUS Oct. 22, 1929.

Filed May 13. 1926 10 Sheets-Sheet 8 cui *SEHEN .c

Oct. 22, 1929.

F. KOCHENDORFER CASTING APPARATUS 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed May 1sy 192e /m/e/ffa/ Mede/76 .5 /fame/fda/fe/ Oct. 22, 1929.

F. S. KOCHENDORFER CASTING APPARATUS Filed May 13, 1926 10 Sheets-Sheet 10 A/fy Patented Get.. 22, i929 UNirizDsTATl-:s PATENT OFFICE-.

FREDERIC sHIELns KooHENno'RFnn, or

WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED, or Naw YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA- TION 0F NEW YORK RIVER romis'r, ILLINOIS, AssIGNonmo CASTING APPARATUS Application filed May 13,

This invention relates to apparatus for casting, and more particularly to apparatus for die casting parts.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for efficiently and rapidly casting parts of uniform character.

To attain this and other objects and in accordance with the general features of this invention, an apparatus representing one embodiment of the invention, is provided which includes a melting pot within a furnace having a hollow walled preheating chamber through which thef products of combustion of the heating medium pass. The air supplied to the gas burners employed for heating the furnace is preheated by passing through the hollow walls of the chamber. Material to be cast, preferably in the form of pigs, preheated while passing through, is rendered plastic in one compartment of the melting 'pot and then passes into the melting and storage compartments thereof. An indexing or intermittently rotating. table carries a plurality of removably interchangeably mounted mold supporting units successively into position before the furnace. During the dwell of the table a connection is established between the die of the presented unit and a charging chamber within'the storage compartment of the melting pot and compressed air applied to deliver the charge of molten metal to the die. While the die is being filled the molten metal normally submerging the outlet of the charging chamber is removed by the creation of a vacuum to prevent the discharge thereof from the machine into the surrounding atmosphere due to any compressed air that might pass a faulty connection between the die and the charging chamber. The normal pressure conditions are then reestablished permitting the molten metal in the storage chamber to fill the charging chamber in preparation for the succeeding die.. rlhe core members are withdrawn from the casting now formed within the die and the die sections thereafter separated, the casting remaining self-attached within the upper portion of the die. The table then indexes to bring another die into the charging position and a device is actuated which 1926, serial No. 108,783.

frees the completed casting from the first mentioned die. Thus it will be' understood that the entire die casting operation is automatically controlled and castings can. be made in continuous successive order. In order to insure the immediate production.V of perfect castings when the mold or die unit is attached to the machine, an auxiliary attachment and preparation unit is employed.l This auxiliary unit is similar to that of the actual production machine so that the die maybe preliminarily subjected to all of the heating and other normal operating conditions before it is employed for the actual production of parts..

These and other objects and features fof the invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating a die casting machine embodyingthe features of the invention in which Fig. l is a fragmentary side elevational View of the furnace and melting pot portion, a portion thereof being shown in section to .disclose more clearly the operating characteristics of the connecting member;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view presenting a continuation of the view shown in Fig. l and at the left thereof disclosing the indexing position of the machine and one mold supporting unit;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the furnace portion of the die casting machine as viewed from the right of Fig. l with the air control f mechanisms removed therefrom;

Fig. t is a vertical sectional view of the indexing portion of the machine taken on` the line4-4ofFig.2;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. t disclosing the actuating parts of the knock-out mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view of the furnace portion of the machine taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1 with the conveyor mechanism removed from the preheating chamber to more clearly disclose parts otherwise hidden; f

Fig. 8 is a det-ail section of the furnace taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1, the outline of the melting pot being shown in dotted lines to disclose its relative position within the oven;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the indexing portion of the die casting machine shown in Fig. 2, showing two mold supporting `units in position;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9 disclosing in detail the operating elements of 'the knockout and core pulling mechanisms;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the furnace, melting pot and associated preheating chamber taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 7 with the connecting member shown in its inoperative or disconnected position; l

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 12-12 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a plan detailed view of the melt ing pot disassociated from the oven;

Fig. 14 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the melting pot taken on the line ,14-14 of Fig. 13;

Fig.` 15 is a vertical section thereof taken on the line 15 15 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 16 is a detailed fragmentary section taken transversely of the opening of the melting pot as on the line 16 16 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 1'7 is a semi-diagrammatic view of an operating unit comprising a die casting machine used in connection with a die adjusting and preparing unit; l

Fig. 18 is a transverse horizontal section taken on the line 18-4-18 of Fig. 4 disclosing the Vdrive elements which actizate the indexin table and associated mechanisms, and

ig. 19 is a transverse sectional View of ythe upper part of the vertical slide taken on .theline 19-19 of Fig. 2.

As illustrated in the drawings, Vthe general `arrangement of the improved die casting machine is to be understood as comprising a combination of `several principal yparts as follows; a furnace, a material melting and charging unit associated therewith, an air and material preheating apparatus, a detachable connecting member designed to op- Furnace `to yieldingly support the oven 23 at two of the above mentioned points and an eye bolt 26 threaded at one end into the base plate 22 at a point equi-distant from the springs presents a hinge mounting at the third point of support. The purpose of the hinge and .spring mountings will readily be understood as the description progresses. Referring to Figs. 8 and 11 it Will be noted that the oven 23 is provided With an inner lining 27 which may be of fire brick 27 and also with a plurality of angularly related burners 28 extending therethrough at spaced intervals. The angular arrangement of the burners 28 is such that flames projected into the oven 23 from said burners will not impinge directly against any elements Within the oven and the whirling effect of the flames supplies a very uniform and efficient distribution of heat within the oven. The outer extremities of the `burners are joined with a suitable pipe connection 29 which surrounds the oven, this-connection being in turn connected with a convenient source of gas supply (not shown). A second and larger pipe 41 encircles the oven 23 in proximity to the pipe-29 and serves as a means for supplyingthe burners with preheated air. The upper end of the oven 23 is provided with a cover 31 secured thereto by means of bolts 32 and having a rectangular opening at its upper central portion and a marginal flange 33 formed adjacent .to said opening.

Melting pot or unit A melting pot 34 (Figs. 13 to 16 inclusive), the body portion of which bears resemblance to a. large caldron or kettle, is provided with a plurality of radial arms 30 which are mounted at their extremities upon the upper end of the cylindrical wall of the oven 23. The pot is formed into compartments which present a supply or vacuum chamber`35 and a melting chamber 36 adjacent thereto. These chambers are separated by a vertical arcuate wall 37, the lower edge of which Vterminates a short distance from theV bottom of the melting pot to provide a communication between the ch ambers. Extending transversely and along the bottom and opposite ends of the pot is an elongated charging chamber 38.

An egress opening 39 at one end of this charging'chamber opensinto a filling chamber 40 V(Fig. 14) 'while the opposite e'nd of the chamber 38'terminates at an elevated position eX- ternally of the chambers and 36 and is designed to receive a threaded coupling 42 of a pressure control or valve mechanism 43 (Figs. 1, 7, and V11). The filling chaml'fer 40 communicates with the lower portion of the vacuum `chamber 35 through the medium of a pair of vertical passageways 44 disposed on opposite sides of the egress opening 39 16). From the foregoing it will be understood that molten material from within the chamber 36 will iow beneath the arcuate wall 37 into the chamber 35 and thence rise through the passageways 44 into the filling chamber 40, providing that the quantity of molten material placed within the chamber 36 is sufficient to cause the resultant level of the material in the melting pot to rise above the bottom of the iilling chamber 40. Obviously, molten material thus raised into the filling chamber will flow downwardly into and ll the charging chamber 38, The supply or vacuum chamber 35 is provided with acover 45 which is designed to seal the vacuum chamber 35 from the outer atmosphere by means of a suitable marginal gasket 46 (Figs. 14 and 15). The cover 45 is formed with an auxiliary cb amber 47 having baille wall 48 extending upwardly therein which is designed to present an inverted U-shaped passage, as indicated by the directional arrows (Fig. 14), one end thereof opening into the vacuum chamber 35, the opposite end being in communication with an evacuating valve mechanism 50 (Figs. 1 and 7). rlhis valve mechanism is connected with a suction device (not shown) and is adapted to be interinittently actuated by a mechanism to be described hereinafter. It will be clear that when the valve mechanism 50 is actuated so as to effect the evacuation of the portion of the vacuum chamber 35 between the upper level of molten material contained therein and the cover 45, the material will rise within the vchamber'35and the level of the material withto the melting pot without disturbing or appreciably cooling that portion of the molten material contained within the supply chainber 35 andthe charging chamber 38. To

lend additional rigidity to the melting pot 34 an upright post 49 is supplied (Figs. 11 and 14), which is suitably mounted atits lcwer end on the bottom of the oven 23 and which engagesat its upper end with the bottom of fthe melting pot 34 directly beneath the filling chamber 40.

Prezeaitz'ng apparatus Rising from the cover 31 of the oven 23 and secured to the marginal flange 33 thereof is a casing 51 (Figs. 7 and 11) which comprises an air jacket 52 in communication with the outer atmosphere at its upper end through suitable openings 53. It will be readily understood that the residual heat of the products of conibustion from within the oven 23 serves to preheat the air within the jacket 52 prior to its being conducted through a iexible pipe line 59 and into the pipe 41 to the burners 23. A preheating chamber 54 which is formed within the casing 51, houses a companion con- Veyor mechanism which comprises an endless chain 55 extending between a pair of hori- Zontal shafts 56 and 57, the shaft 56 being rotatably mounted at the upper end of the chamber 54, and the shaft 57 being mounted at the lower portion of the chamber 54 and ydesigned to be intermittently rotated by means of a driving mechanism 58. The conveyor 55 supports a plurality of conveyor members or buckets 60 at spaced intervals which are designed to receive a charge of material to be melted. The above mentioned residual heat from the oven 23 which serves to preheat the air drawn through the acket 52 also serves to elfectively preheat the charges of metal as they are conveyed through the chamber 54. The conveyor driving mechanism 58 includes a worm wheel 61 11) secured to the shaft 57 and a companion worin 62 operatively associated therewith and designed to be intermittently rotated through the medium of a ratchet and pawl mechanism 63 (Fig. 1), which is actuated by means of mechanism to be described hereinafter. Material which is to be melted may be inserted within the preheating chamber 54 and placed upon one of the conveyor buckets 60 by opening a door 64 (Figs. 1 and 7) provided at the lower portion of the side of the casing 51. As the conveyor members are slowly moved upwardly past the opening of this door material may be conveniently placed thereon, said material being advance-d step by step, first to the top and then to the bottom of the chamber 54. As the buckets 60 approach the lower limit of their downward movement a suitable engaging trip 65 (Fig. 12) tilts the bucket sufiiciently to discharge the material carried thereby into the chamber 36 of the melting pot 34. By the arrangement of this preheating apparatus much of the heat used for the purpose of heating the melting pot is employed to bring the temperature of the material to be melted to a rather high degree prior to its being delivered to the melting pot and thereby the operating` eiiiciency of the entire heating unit is greatly increased. In the event that it may be desirable to feed the material directly into the melting pot, a door 66 (Figs. 7 an-d 12) provided in the cover 31 may be opened. This door opens directly into the lower portion of the preheating chamber 54 at a point approximating the upper open end of the cham ber 36.

Detachable connecting member A connecting member or nozzle 67 which is provided with an arcuate passageway 63 is detachably mounted at one end within the lilling chamber 40 (Figs. l and ll). This end of the connecting member which terminates within the filling chamber is formed with a convex surface 69 (Fig. 1l) which is designed for operative engagement with a companion concave surface 7() formed medially of the bottom of the filling chamber 40, the egress opening 39 of the charging chamber 38 terminating at such concave surface. The opposite, outer end of the connecting member 67 is formed with a concave surface 71 which is designed for engagement with a suitable die in a manner presently to appear'. Interposed between the upper part of the connecting member 67 and a rotatable shaft 7 2 traversing the cover 3l of the oven 23 is a pair of toggle arms 73 and 74. The arm 74 is pivotally connected with the connecting member 67 and the arm 73 is mounted upon the shaft 72 so that when the knee of this 'toggle arrangement is bent, the connectingmember 67 will assume the inoperative, disconnected position disclosed in Fig. l1, with its convex surface 69 disengaged from the concave surface 70. Thus it will be equally apparent that when the toggle arms 73 and 74 are in alignment thecompanion convex and concave surfaces 69 and 70 .will be engaged and the passageway 68 will form a continuation of the charging chamber 38. As above mentioned the concave surface 7l formed at the outer extremity of the connecting member 67 is designed for operative engagen'ient with a companion spherical connecting element 75 of a suitable die or mold, contemporaneously with the engagement of the convex and concave surfaces 69 and 7 0 as heretofore described. In this connection particular attention is directed to the fact that as the connecting member 67 is carried downwardly from its disengaged position as disclosed in Fig. l1 the concave surface 71 thereof engages with the spherical element 7 5 and likewise the convex surface 69 engages with the concave surface 70. The coil springs 24 which yieldinc'ly supi'x-ort the oven 23 will permitof a lowering of the oven and the melting pot secured thereto sufficiently to permit of the wiping action of the engaging surfaces of the connecting member 67 when it is lowered to its operative engaging position just de scribec. The wiping action referred to is sufficient to effect a very tight or sealed connection between the engaging surfaces 69 and 70 and the element 75.

When the connecting member 67 occupies its raised or inoperative position as shown Fig. 1l, molten material from within the supply or vacuum chamber 35 which has been carried upwardly through the passageways 44 (Fig. 16) and into the A filling chamber 40 will be free to iiow through the opening 39 and into the charging chamber 38 provided, of course, that the valve mechanism 43 permits the air within the charging chamber 38 to escape therethrough as the molten material enters at the opposite end. When the connectingmember 67 is subsequently lowered to its operative position as shown in Fig. l, the wiping action of the contacting surfaces 69 and 7 0 serves to force out any molten metal from between said surfaces and thereby present a perfectly sealed connection. The passageway 68 of the connecting member 67 is now'positioned so that if air pressure be lapplied from the valve mechanism 43 molten material from Within the charging chamber 38 will be directed into the connecting element 75. Before this pressure is applied, however, the valve mechanism v5() is operated by mechanism later to be described, and a vacuum is created above the molten material within the supply or vacuum chamber 35, the rising of the molten material therein serving to withdraw molten material from within the .filling chamber 40. Thus when pressure is subsequently applied to the molten material within the charging chamber 38, all of the molten material from within the filling chamber 4() surromiding the connecting member lodged therein will have been withdrawn, thereby positively preventing lthe scattering of molten material from within the filling chamber as the result of an imperfect connection between the convex and concave surfaces 69 and 70. In addition to this safety mechanism, balles 77 (Figs. l and 1l) are formed around the exterior of that portion of the connecting member 67 which -terminates within the filling chamber 40 to prevent the escape of molten metal eXcept through the passageway 68 within the connecting member. Following the forcing of the molten material from the charging chamber 38, the valve mechanisms 43 and 50 are automatically actuated, thereby discontinuing the pressure andv the vacuum, and the disconnecting member 67 is subsequently disengaged. Molten material is now free to flow into the lling chamber 40 andy thence into the charging chamber 38 as above described. During the evacuation of the vacuum chamber 35, the baille wall 48, in the cover 45, Fig.

14, serves to prevent the possibility of with-Vv drawing molten material from within the vacuum chamber.

Indexing mechanism Having now described in a general the manner in which the material to be cast `is delivered to the melting pot 34, the melting thereof within the pot and the subsequent forcing of the material therefrom, attention is now directed to an indexing mechanism denoted generally by the numeral 78, which is designed to support a plurality of mold or die supporting units 79 to be described. This mechanism includes a table 8O which is horizontally rotatable about a cylindrical upright bearing 82 formed integral with and extending upwardly from the frame 21 (Figs. 2 and 4). Secured to and beneath the table 80 are a plurality of segments which as a unit constitute a Geneva wheel 83 (Figs. 4 and 18). This wheel 83 is designed to be intermittently actuated by the engagement of a roller 84 carried by a disk 85 which is revolubly mounted upon the upper end of a vertical shaft 87. Secured to the disk 85 on the underside thereof is a worm wheel 88 which engages a companion worm 89 mounted upon a horizontal shaft 90. The shaft 90 projects externally of the machine and supports a hand wheel 91 at its outer extremity and carries a gear 92 (Fig. 2) which engages with a companion gear 93. This gear 93 is carried by a suitable shaft (not shown) and is adapted to be operatively connected with and disconnected from a gear 94 by any suitable means such as a conventional clutch de vice 96. The gear 94 is continuously driven by a driving gear 95 and power is supplied to this driving gear from an electric motor 97 by means of a chain belt 98.

Secured to and positioned beneath the worm wheel 88 is a bevel gear 99 (Fig. 4) which engages with a companion bevel gear 100 mounted upon a shaft 102 which is disposed at right angles to the shaft 90 and is revoluble within a suitable bearing member 103 formed in the base 21. The bevel gear 100 is mounted upon the outer extremity of the shaft 102 and the inner end of the shaft carries a crank member 104 (Figs. 4 and 5). One end of this crank 104 is pivotally connected with one extremity of an arm 105 (Fig. 2),

the opposite end thereof being pivotally connected with a pair of toggle arms 106 and 107. The lower extremities of the toggle arms 106 are mounted on a shaft 109 which is carried by a block 110 (Fig. 6). Heavy duty coil springs 111 are coupled with the block 110 so as to yieldingly urge the block and shaft 109 mounted therein upwardly with great force against an abutment plate 112. The upper extremities of the toggle arms 107 are pivotally connected with a vertical slide 113 and thus when the crank 104 has been rotated through an angle of about 180o from the position shown in Fig. 2, the position of the arm 105 and the toggle arms 106 and 107 will approximate the position indicated by the dot and dash lines in Fig. 2. Referring now to the bevel gear 99 (Fig. 4) secured to the worm wheel 88 it is to be understood that the rotation of this gear and worm wheel will be continuous. lt is desired, however, to have the shaft 102 rotate intermittently and this is accomplished by having a certain number of teeth (not shown) in the bevel gear 99 mutilated. The bevel gear 99 is larger than the connjianion bevel gear 100 and is so constructed that the number of perfect teeth is equivalent to the total number of teeth in the gear 100 and therefore during each rotation of the gear 99 one complete rotation will be impartto the gear 100, the latter experiencing a dwell during the period of association therewith of the multilated portion of the gear 99.

Die supp ortie/tg @mits Each of the die supports 7 9 includes a base portion 115 designed to be conveniently clamped as by means of a clamp member 116 (Fig. 2) upon the upper surface of the table 80. Referring to Figs. 2, 6, and 9 it will be observed that the support base 115 supplies a lower mounting for three vertical shafts 117 and the inner portion of the base 115 is formed with an integral upright frame member 118. The upper end of the frame member 118 supplies an anchorage for the upper extremities of the shafts 117, which are secured in position thereto by means of tightening nuts 120. Slidable upon the vertical shafts 117 are a pair of upper and lower carriage blocks 121 and 122, respectively. The lower carriage block is designed to support a lower section 123 of a split mold or die 124 while the upper carriage block is designed to support the upper section 125 of the mold or die. Threaded into the bottom of the lower carriage block 122 are a pair of spaced guide bolts 127 (Figs. 2 and 19) the lower extremities of these bolts being formed with heads 128 which are adapted to be moved into operative association with an arcuate guideway 129 provided at the upper end of the slide 113. The association of the heads 128 of each of the guide bolts with the guideway 129 is occasioned during the indexing of the table 80, at which time the toggle arms 106 and 107 will have assumed the positions shown by the dot and dash lines in Fig. 2 and the Lipper extremity of the slide 113 will be positioned immediately beneath the base 115 of the die support 79. When the toggle arms 106 and 107 assume their aligned positions as shown in Fig. 2, the heavy duty coil springs 111 at the lower extremities of the arms 106 cause the lower section 123 of the die 124 to bear upwardly against the companion upper section 125 with great force. lNhile occupying these positions the die is in readiness to receive a charge of molten material from the melting pot 34 in the manner heretofore described. A pair of guide bolts 130 similar to the guide bolts 127 are secured to the underside of the base 115 and like the bolts 127 are designed to be similarly moved into and out of association with a guideway 131 (Fig. 2) provided in a frame block 133 "kro which extends upwardly from and is suitably secured to the machine base 21. This arrangement serves to lend rigidity to the outwardly projecting portion ofthe base 115 of the die support 79 during the functioning of the toggle arms 106 and 107. l

Referring now to the upper portion of the die support 79 as disclosed in Fig. 2 it will be observed that a latch member 134 is pivoted ,at 135 to the side of the upper carriage block 121, the lower end of the latch member being designed for engagement with a pin 136 carried by the lower carriage block 122. A similar latch member 138 is provided at the diy' agonally opposed corner of the carriage blocks 121 and 122 and obviously as the slide 113 starts on its downward movement the carriage blocks 121 and 122 being linked together by means of the latch members 134 and 138 will be moved downwardly as a unit. They will continue to move downwardly as a unit for a distance which may be about three inches at which point a finger 139 of the latch member 134 engages with a lixed screw stop 140 to disengage the latch from the pin 136. Simultaneously with the engagement of the finger 139 with the screw stop 140, the upper slotted end of the latch member 138 which engages with a pin 141 causes the lower extremity of the latch 138 to become disengaged. The upper carriage block 121 then remains stationary by resting upon the pin 141 while the lower carriage block 122 continues to move downwardly, the casting then formed within the die remaining by shrinkage of the castingmetal on the upper section 125 of the die. When the carriage block 122 approaches its lowermost position the table 80 will begin to rotate and another die support will be indexed into position.

y In `the event that it becomes necessary to mold or cast a part which requires the use ofcores, a core pulling mechanism 142 (Fig. isY automatically operated duringr the period when the die 124 is being lowered as a unit as above described. The functional characteristics of the core pulling mechanism 142 will be best understood by referring to Figs. 9 and 10. The upper carriage block 121 is formed with brackets 143 which extend outwardly from three sides of the block.

`Each of these brackets is formed with a sleeve to the lowerextremity of companion rods 151 which extend upwardly through the upper portion of the frame 118. Suitably secured .le the face of the block 150 is a plate 152 (Fig. 10) Awhich is designed to support core members 53. When the carriage Suitably secured to the face of the block is a plate 152 (Fig. 10) which is designed to support core members 53. When the carriage blocks 121 and 122 occupy their uppermost positions as shown in Fig. 10, the links 147 and companion arms 148 occupy their normally aligned positions, the block 150, the plate 152 and core 153 occupying their forwardly extended positions, with the core 153 reaching into the mold ofthe die 124. .A s the carriage blocks are moved downwardly as a unit adjustable lock nuts 155 are brought into engagement with the upper portion of the frame 118, thereby causing the retraction of the block 150 and the consequent withdrawing of the core. Immediately subsequent to the withdrawing of the cores from the die, the separation of the die sections 123 and 125 is occasioned in the manner already described. The insertion of the core 153 will take place when the die sections are again actuated upwardly as a unit at which time lock nuts 154, similar tothe lock nuts 155, are carried into 'ngagement with the underside of the frame Knock-out mecham'sm Extending downwardly through the upper die section 125 (Fig. 10) are a pair of ejector rods 156 which are secured at their upper ends to a plate 157. Interposed between the medial upper surface of each plate 157 and one end of a rocker arm' 158 are a pair of connecting links 159, the rocker arm 158 being pivotally mounted medially of its ends upon a lbearing member 161 at the upper end of the die support frame 118. Obviously, the downward movement of the outer extremity of the rocker arm 158 will cause the rods 156 to eject a casting from the upper die section 125, if the lower die section 123 has been separated therefrom. To `effect the actuation of the rocker arm 158 at the proper time, that is, after the die sections have been separated and the die support has been properly indexed, a cam surface 162 (Figs. `2 and 4) formed at `the upper portion of a slide 163 is designed for engagement with an adjustable screw 164 carried at the inner extremity of the rocker arm 158. This slide 163 is vertically slidable upon a lixed guide sleeve 166 suitably secured to an uprightv cylindrical frame member 167 whichis suitably mounted within a bearing 82 of the inachine base 21. Traversing the cylindrical member 167 and pivoted at one end to the fixed guide sleeve 166 is an arm 168 (Fig. 4) the outer extremity of which is connected with the slide 163 by means of a link 169. Pivotally secured to the arm 168 and depending therefrom within the cylindrical member 167 isa connecting rod 171. The lower extremity of the connecting rod is forked and has a roller 172 mounted thereon` which is adapted to be engaged by arcuate cam segments 173 and 17 4 (Figs. 4 and 5) which are suitably secured to the crank 104. From Fig. 5 it will be understood that the arrangement of the cam members 173 and 17 4 is such that during the course of one revolution of the crank 104, the coni'iecting rod 171 will experience one complete vertical reciprocation. The cam member 173 engages with the roller 172 to effect the positive downward return of the connecting rod while the cam 174 serves to effect positive upward movement of the connecting rod. The upwart movementof the connecting rod 171 results in a relative upward movement of the cam surface 162 of the slide 163 and the consequent engagement of the surface 162 with the screw 164 carried by the rocker arm 158 causes the casting within the upper die section 125 to be positively ejected. Movement of the slide 163 only affects those rocker arms 158 Whose screws 164 are in engagement with the high portion of the cam surface 162. The reason for this will be obvious when it is understood that a rocker arm caried by a die support 79 which is in the position shown in Fig. 2 must not be operated until said support has been indexed and hence the cam surface 162 is formed low enough so that the actuation of the slide will not cause the actuation of this rocker arm. lf it is desired to delay the ejecting of the casting until the die support carrying the same. has been indexed to a subsequent position, a second and similar cam surface 176 may be empl yed to engage with the screw 164 when trie screw is carried in an opening provided at the innermost extremity of the rocker arms.

Driving mechanisms rilhus far the mechanism for operating the pressure and vacuum valves 43 and 50, the pawl and ratchet mechanism 63 and the dctachable connecting member 67 have not heen described in detail. Referring to 4 it "ill be seen that the inner of 'the intermittently operated bevel gear 100 has a smaller bevel gear 170 secured thereto which meshes with a companion bevel gear 180 (Fig. 2) mounted upon one end of a horizontal drive shaft 175 extending longitudinally of Ythe machine. The opposite end of the drive shaft 1.75 is mounted within a housing 177 secured at the side of the frame 21 beneath the oven 28. fr suitable box cam 178 secured to the drive shaft 17 5 (Fie. 1) is operatively associated with a hinged arm 179 extending laterally from the machine frame 21 and is adapted to impart to the arm a reciprocating up and down swinging movement (Fig. A vertical actuating rod 181 reaches through the extremity of the arm 179 and upper extremity or this rod is pivotally secured to a crank arm 182 carried by the shaft 7L. Thus the reciprocation imparted to the rod 181 will cause the toggle arms '73 and 74 to be actuated at a predetermined time.

Secured to the driving shaft 175 Within the housing 177 is a bevel gear 185 which meshes with a. companion gear 183 (Fics. 1 and mounted upon shaft 184 vwhich traverses and is suitably mounted within the machine base 21. Secured to this shaft 184 are a plurality of cams 186, 187 and 188 (Figs. 1, 3, and 7 rlhe cam 186 is operatively connected with the pawl and ratchet mechanism 63 through the medium of a rocker arm 189 and a vertical actuating rod 190. 'lhe cam 187 serves to operate the evacuating valve mechanism 50 through a rocher arm 191 and a vertical actuating rod 192. The pressure valve mechanism is actuated by the cam 188 acting through a rocker arm 194 and a rod 195. To positively prevent the actuation of the pressure valve mechanism 43 while the connecting member 67 is in its inoperative or disengaged position (as shown in Fig. 11) a mechanism provided which is located immediately beneath the base plate 22. This mechanism includes a pivoted bent arm 196 (Figs. 1 and 3) having the extremity of one leg thereof positioned in the path of a collar 197 secured to the rod 181. rlhe collar 197 is in its lowermost position as shown and the connecting member 67, which is actuated by means of this rod 181, is in its operative position. As the collar 197 is moved upwardly due to the upward movement of the rod 181 the upper leg of the bent arm 196 will be swung to the right (Fig. 1) due to the action of a coil spring 198 which is operatively connected with the bent arm 196 by means of a connecting cable or flexible rod 199. This results in the outward projection of a forked member 200 adapted, when thus projected, to straddle the rod 195 and a collar secured to the rod will abut the forked member 200 in the event that the rod 195 should experience a downward urge. rllhus the downward movement of the rod 195 is positively prevented as long as the connecting member 67 remains in its disengaged position.

'l1 he hand wheel 91 secured to the outer ei:- tremity of the shaft 90 (Figs. 2 and 9) supplies a means for manually imparting slow movement to the cooperating parts of the die casting machine and the conventional clutch 96 associated with the continuously driven gear 94 is designed to operatively associate this gear with the gear 93 (Fig. 2) by the manipulation of a lever 204. This leve' 204 is connected with horizont-al shifter rods 205 extending along the sides of the die casting machine and by this arrangement the machine may be conveniently connected to or disconnected from the source of power supply by an operator from any position in proximity to the machine.

, Die adjusting mol preparing @mit An auxiliary die casting unit 206 shown semi-diagrammatically in Fig. 17, is provided., which is designed for cooperation with the die casting machine hereinbefore described. It requires a certain amount of time to accurately adjust the die sections 123 and 125 in proper position within their respective die siqiports and this un carried by one of the supports 79 mountedupon the table 80, the operation of the machine need only be discontinued. for a period of time which is sufficient to permit a die and associated support to be transferred thereto from the adjusting and preparing unit. This arrangement practicallyinsures continual and uninterrupted operation oir' the die casting machine.

Operation.

.in the operation of this machine a charge of metal is first placed within the chamber 36 of the melting pot 34 and the gas burners 28 of the oven 23 are ignited. The tangential projection of the flames within the oven- 23 precludes the possibility of the direct impingement of the flames against any portion of the melting pot and the whirling effect produced by the flames causes the oven to heat quickly and uniformly. Thedie supports 79 having dies associated therewith which have been previously tested in Vthe testing machine 206 are clamped in position upon the rotary table 80. 1t will be observet that the table is capable of accommodating five die supports. With the connecting member 67 in its disconnected or inoperative position as shown in Fig. 11, molten material from within the premelting chamber 36 passes liiei'ieath the arcuate wall 37 and into the supply or vacuum chamber 35 and thence upwardly through the passageways 44 into the filling chamber 40 and from the filling chamber into the charging chamber 38. )When a charge of material within the chamber 38 is in readiness to be supplied to a die carried by the associatedV die support 79, the automatic operation of the machine may be started by connecting the machine with the source of power supply from the motor 97 through the actuation of the clutch mechanism 96. This clutch mechanism serves to operatively con* neet the gear 94 with the gear 93 which drives the gear 92 on the shaft 90. Rotation is thus imparted tothe worm 89 which in turn effects the rotation of the roller 84 carried by the disk 85. The mutilated bevel gear 99 carried by the worm wheel 88 serves to impart intermittent rotation to the drive shaft 175 through the bevel gears 100, 170 and 180. A corresponding intermittent rotation is likewise imparted to the shaft 102 (Fig. 4) and the crank member 104 carried at the inner ritremity of this shaft, and it will be unood that the rotation of this crank 104 will cause the toggle arms 106 and 107 to be moved into alignment, thereby causing the carriage block 122 and the lower die section 123 associated therewith to be moved upwardly into engagement with'the upper carriage block 121 and its associated upper section 125. Subsequent to their engagement these members will continue to move upwardly as a unit through a distance of about three inches, during which time the core. pulling mechanism 142 is operated so as to insert the core member 153 in its proper position within tiiedie 124. When the die sections have reached their uppermost positions within the die support 79 the box cam 178 (Fig. 1) mounted upon the drive. shaft 175 functions so as to cause the arm 179 and the rod 181 carried at the outer extremity thereof to be urged downwardly. The shaft 72 is rotated and the toggle arms 73 and 74 are swung into alignment, thereby causing the concave surface 71 of the. connecting member 67 to make a wiping engagement with the spherical die connecting element and the convex surface 09 likewise to engage with its companion concave surface 70 within the retaining chamber 40 (Fig. 11). The passageway 68 of the connecting member 67 now presents an unbroken means of communication between the mold of the die and the charging chamber 33 of the meltand the rocker arm 191. Y The vacuum created above the molten material within the vacuum chamber 35 causes the molten material within the filling chamber 40 to be drawn downwardly and into the vacuum chamber. fect the actuation of the pressure valve43 and molten metal within the charging chamber is forced into the die. Immediately sub;- sequent to this charging operation, the cams 187 and 188 cause the valve mechanisms 50 and 43, respectively, to be operated so as to discontinue the vacuum and the pressure. The baille 48 within the anniliaryV chamber 47 (Fig. 14) serves to prevent molten material from within the chamber 35 to be car ried into the valve mechanism 50 while the air from within the chamber is being exhausted. After the initial charge of molten material has been placed within the melting Y l The cam 188 then operates to efpot 34, charges oi material may then be automatically delivered to the chamber 36. This is accomplished by the operation of the conveyor buckets 60 within the preheating chamber 54 wherein charges ot material are preheated prior to their being automatically discharged into the premelting chamber 36. litter the pressure and vacuum have been discontinued the box cam 17 8 operates to raise the connecting member 67 to its inoperative position as shown in Fig. 11. Contemporaneously with the disconnecting of the member 67 the toggle arms 106 and 107 (Fig. 2) operate to cause the upper and lower carriage blocks 121 and 122 to move downwardly as a unit. During the initial portion of this downward movement the core members 153 are withdrawn by means of the core pulling mechanism 142 (Fig. 10) and after the unit has been carried alownwardiy for a certain distance the lower carriage block 122 automaticaliy becomes disconnected from the carriage block 121 due to the unlatching of the members 134 and 138 (Fig. The casting clings of itself to the upper die section 125 and the table 8O is rotated or indexed so as to permit the next following die support and associated die to be carried into association with the connecting member 67. Following the separation of the carriage blocks 121 and 122 and the indexing of the table 80 the castthe ejector pins 156 is occasioned by the vertical reciproration et the siidc 163 which engages with one end of the rocker arm 158.

rIhus it will be clear that the entire operation of the machine is automatic and that the machine is designed to accelerate the sequentia?. production oi castings in a very ethcient and eiiective manner. Oxidation of the molten material retained within the melting pot is reduced to a minimum by having the vacuum chamber 35 sealed from the outer atmosphere by means of the cover 45. In this connection attention is directed to the fact that the rise and fall of the molten material within the chamber 35 occasioned during the evacuation of said chamber, serves as an eiiective means of agitation.

Changes in the speciiic form of the invention, as herein described, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit thereof.

lfihat is claimed is:

1. In a casting apparatus, means for retaining material to be cast including a supply chamber, a charging chamber and a communicating chamber, a mold, a detachable member having a passageway for interconnecting the charging chamber and the mold, one end of the passageway being positioned within the communicating chamber, means for actuating the detachable member, means for removing material from the communieating chamber, and means for charging the mold with material from the charging chamber.

2. In a casting apparatus, means :tor retaining material to be cast including a supply chamber, a charging chamber and a communicating chamber, a mold, a detachable member having a passageway Jfor interconnecting the charging chamber and the mold, one end 'of the passageway being positioned within the communicating chamber, means torractuating the detachable member, suction means ior removing material from the communicating chamber, and means for charging the mold with material from within the charging chamber.

3. In a casting apparatus, means for retaining material to be cast, a mold, an independently actuated means for interconnecting t-he material retaining means and the mold, means for charging the mold with material from the retaining means, and means ior preventing the actuation of the charging means when the mold and material retaining means are disconnected.

4. In a casting apparatus, means for retaining material to be cast, a mold, a detachable member having a passageway for interconnecting the material retaining means and the mold, means attached to the detachable member for actuating the detachable member at predetermined intervals, and means operable during the interconnection of the retaining means and the mold for charging the mold with material from the retaining means.

the communicating chamber prior to the actuation of the charging means.

6. In acasting apparatus, means for retaining molten material to be cast, means for heating the retaining means, a mold, a detachable member having a passageway for interconnecting t-he material retaining means and the mold, means attached to the attachable member for actuating the detachable member at predetermined intervals, and means i'or forcing molten material from the retaining means into the mold during the engagement of the detachable member.

7. In a casting apparatus, means for retaining material to be cast, means for supporting a plurality of molds, a detachable member having a passageway for interconnecting the material retaining means with a mold on the supporting means, means Jfor actuating the detachable member, means for changing 'a ino-ld with rmaterial from within the retaining means, vand means for kindexing the moll supporting means during the disengagement fof the `detachable member to dvanc'e a mold into position to be charged.

'8. In `a 'die casting :appara-tus, means tor charging a sectional die, a die support including a 4pairvo'f members slidab'le in the same path tor retaining the die sections, means for initially slidino' the members together as ya #unina core rei'rroving lmechanism associated therewith, means .ior actuating the core removing Vmech'anism during the initial movement ot the members, fand means lier subsequently separating gthe members.

9. In a die casting -fapp'aratus, means for charging a -secti ona'lfdie,.an indexing mechanism, a 'plurality ot' die lfstrpponts mounted thereon, means for actuating the lindenin'g mechanism to `advance 'adie `carried by lone of the stnports into position tolbe fcharged iby the argin-g means, land aY togglemechanism icon-trolled by the #actuating means for separating the fdie iseotionsfcarrieel by the `Tdie support. subsequent fto `the 1olmng'ing operation and for closing the sections of .the `die as it-is again being `indexed into position to be Acharged.

l0. In a die casting :appara-tus, means for char-ging a sectional sdie, a plurality vof die supports, means tor intermittently advancing a eliefca-rried by a-sugpport into position to be charrgecl, a ltoggle mechanism ffor moving the die sections subsequent ft'o the changing thereof, ancl 'core removing mechanisms fresponsive to the actuation of the togglemeohanism.

lfl. In a :die casting apparatus, means 'for 4successively charging dies, a fpluralityoffreniovably mounted die supports, 4moans for successively I.associating dies carried by the `sluiports with the `ichalffng means, -a plurality (yf-clamps flor remos-ably 'holding the die snippet-ts fon Fthe last mentioned means, and means 4for individually adjusting and q'ireparing -dies within their :respective supports.

142. In a `die casting apparatus, `means for charging a seGtiOnalftlie, a support for 'the diie sections, a spring, :and a lost motion togglemechanism. formovi-ng .thediesections on `.the support "to compress .thespring and resiliently torce Tthe die-sections together.

18. lin a die casting-apparatus, Jmeans for charging asectio'nal die,a support for .the die sections, arresti-lent means, anda toggle ,mech- ,auism interposed between thesupport .andithe rsilient-means for -moving the die `sections on the support.

511i. Ima die casting apparatus, `a sectional elia-a toggle mechanism torclosingandfopening the diesections, andcoreactuating imeshu anisms responsive 'tto and controlled by the -rnovement ofthe toggle mechanism.

,ses

15. .In "a die :casting apparatus, a mold, 'a material retaining means, a supply chamber and charging chamber integral therewith, a yi'el'dable means for supporting the material retaining means, and an interconnecting means adapted to engage the 4charging 1chamber andu the mold to charge the mold with material.

i6. .In a fdi'e `castingapparatus, a charging means, a plurality of dies, a `core removing lmechanism :foreach die, means for indexing the dies successively into charging position, Aand 2a single toggle means 'for actuating the dies :successively to actnate the core mecha- 117. In a -die feasting apparatus, a chargingmealns, fa rotatable member, ay plurality of sectional diesmountecl thereon, a fcarrifa'ge for ca'clifdie section, means tor intermittently r0- tating a die into `a position opposite the charging means, va toggle mechanism, means carried'thereby for successively engaging the carriage 'ollifeacli el the lowertlie sections as 'the die Iis moved into position opposite the changing im'eans,vand means ter actuating the toggle mechanism to move the die v--i-nto 4a charging lposition. p18. In la dfife castinfo apparatus, :an intermittently rotatiingvn'iember, .a removable ldie 1f )port clamped thereon, raxsectie-nail die slidfle fon the fsupp'ort, a res'iliently mounted toggle mechanism having the lower die section foarrie'd thereby, means ttor holding the ldie Ssec'jtfio'ns fas .a uni-t,l means 'for releasing 1the *unit 'fholding means to separate lthe die sections as the toggle "mechanism moves fthe Ellie;

witness Wh'ereof, -I hereunto subscribe unynamefthisQQth ltlgay Io'f April, 1926.

.TEREDE'RIC SHiElDS 'KOCHENDORFER 

